I HEAR this morning from my friends in Madrid that Gareth Bale will 'definitely join Real in summer for 60MILLION euros'.
I did Gareth's biog a couple of years back and wish him all the best in his new venture.
I also wouldn't be at all surprised if Gareth moves to Spain with the Player of the Year awards with him.
We will miss you Gareth - and I bet Europe will shudder at the thought of Ronaldo on the right and Bale on the left wings!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
I FEAR FOR MAN UTD IN MADRID
I REALLY, REALLY hope I am wrong. But the demise of English clubs in Europe makes me fear for Man United in Madrid tonight.
If it is correct that English football has not moved on over the last five years and that the continentals have not only caught up but overtaken us, United could be in for a lesson at the Bernabeu.
The consensus appears to be that the English Prem is not what it was - and if that is the case, Utd's 12-point lead at the top will count for little tonight.
They may simply be the best of an average bunch in England.
But the beauty of Ferguson is that you can never write him or his team off. Especially with the brilliance of Van Persie and Rooney.
It could be 4-1 to Madrid, but we will only know the truth after 90 minutes. If Fergie has, as he would have us believe, but a Utd team that stands fair judgment against his great teams of the past, we might witness the Miracle of the Bernabeu.
But with Ronaldo, Benzema, Ozil and Alonso coming at them, I still have doubts.
If Fergie pulls off a win or even a draw tonight, I believe it will rank up there as one of his greatest managerial achievements - even up with the 1999 3-2 win at Juve that led to the eventual realisation of the treble dream.
If it is correct that English football has not moved on over the last five years and that the continentals have not only caught up but overtaken us, United could be in for a lesson at the Bernabeu.
The consensus appears to be that the English Prem is not what it was - and if that is the case, Utd's 12-point lead at the top will count for little tonight.
They may simply be the best of an average bunch in England.
But the beauty of Ferguson is that you can never write him or his team off. Especially with the brilliance of Van Persie and Rooney.
It could be 4-1 to Madrid, but we will only know the truth after 90 minutes. If Fergie has, as he would have us believe, but a Utd team that stands fair judgment against his great teams of the past, we might witness the Miracle of the Bernabeu.
But with Ronaldo, Benzema, Ozil and Alonso coming at them, I still have doubts.
If Fergie pulls off a win or even a draw tonight, I believe it will rank up there as one of his greatest managerial achievements - even up with the 1999 3-2 win at Juve that led to the eventual realisation of the treble dream.
PLAN B SHOULD FORGET PLAN A
SAW Plan B last night and loved the first half of his show when he worked through the Strickland Banks stuff.
Ben Drew is a great soul singer and we are lucky to have him here in the UK.
But the second part of the show highlighted Ben's achilles heel.
He thinks he is a world-class rapper along the lines of Eminem. But he ain't, which the Ill Manors second section proved.
I am told that Ben believes he is a rapper first and a soul singer second - and that he is happy to do the soul stuff as its success enables him to also push the rapping down our throats.
But the rapping didn't work. Ben gets muddled and tangled up when he resorts to it. He is famed for helping out disadvantaged kids in his spare time, encouraging them to seek a better way of life and not to follow a path that leads to booze, drugs, violence and despair.
Yet here he was, drumming up the rowdier section of the audience into a frenzy with backdrop scenes of kids stealing from shops as London burned and singing, 'What you looking at posh boy' with a growling vengeance.
Forget Plan A...the rapping, Ben. Stick to Plan B, the soul - you have nothing to prove, mate. You are a great bloke, a great actor and a great soul singer and we love you for all those attributes.
Ben Drew is a great soul singer and we are lucky to have him here in the UK.
But the second part of the show highlighted Ben's achilles heel.
He thinks he is a world-class rapper along the lines of Eminem. But he ain't, which the Ill Manors second section proved.
I am told that Ben believes he is a rapper first and a soul singer second - and that he is happy to do the soul stuff as its success enables him to also push the rapping down our throats.
But the rapping didn't work. Ben gets muddled and tangled up when he resorts to it. He is famed for helping out disadvantaged kids in his spare time, encouraging them to seek a better way of life and not to follow a path that leads to booze, drugs, violence and despair.
Yet here he was, drumming up the rowdier section of the audience into a frenzy with backdrop scenes of kids stealing from shops as London burned and singing, 'What you looking at posh boy' with a growling vengeance.
Forget Plan A...the rapping, Ben. Stick to Plan B, the soul - you have nothing to prove, mate. You are a great bloke, a great actor and a great soul singer and we love you for all those attributes.
JOSE MOURINHO 'IS THE NEW CHELSEA BOSS'
MY spies at Stamford Bridge tell me that Jose Mourinho will return to manage Chelsea in the summer.
Apparently the deal is '95 per cent' done - and both Roman and Jose 'are both looking forward to working together again'.
The move was engineered by Roman after he became perturbed by the fans' seeming disilusionment with him following his appointment of Benitez as interim coach.
Roman likes to be loved and to have the No 1 place in the fans' hearts - which explains why he sacked Jose in the first place. He felt that Mourinho had the monopoly on their affections.
Now he has decided to bring Jose back to recapture the love of the Chelsea fans.
Jose will be handed full control of all playing matters and will have the final say on transfers in and out - the latter luxury which none of his successors enjoyed.
I am told he has 'been given the brief to rebuild the team and breathe new life into it' and he will be given time to do so.
It is an exciting development and one I am sure most Chelsea fans will welcome.
Good luck, Jose - it's good to have you back in England where you belong.
Apparently the deal is '95 per cent' done - and both Roman and Jose 'are both looking forward to working together again'.
The move was engineered by Roman after he became perturbed by the fans' seeming disilusionment with him following his appointment of Benitez as interim coach.
Roman likes to be loved and to have the No 1 place in the fans' hearts - which explains why he sacked Jose in the first place. He felt that Mourinho had the monopoly on their affections.
Now he has decided to bring Jose back to recapture the love of the Chelsea fans.
Jose will be handed full control of all playing matters and will have the final say on transfers in and out - the latter luxury which none of his successors enjoyed.
I am told he has 'been given the brief to rebuild the team and breathe new life into it' and he will be given time to do so.
It is an exciting development and one I am sure most Chelsea fans will welcome.
Good luck, Jose - it's good to have you back in England where you belong.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
GAZZA'S 'BENEFACTORS' HAVE GOT IT WRONG
I CAN tell you now that it will be a small miracle if Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne returns from America cured of alcohol addiction.
I can tell you because I was just like Gazza almost 20 years - I could not stop drinking and my life was a terrible mangle of a mess.
The thing is this: I didn't want to stop drinking - and you can only get well when you have a true desire to stop.
So all the flashy rehabs in America will not provide the answer if Gazza has gone there merely for another spa break.
He has been to AA and he has been to rehabs before - and look where he is now. He seems to be like George Best; another tragedy unravelling in front of our very eyes. He does not appear to want to stop drinking.
There is no miracle cure. Just a reprive contingent on him changing his thinking - and there you have it. There is all this talk about his problem drinking but it is actually his problem thinking that is his real curse.
Drinking, drugs, sex, spending sprees - they are all but the symptom of the illness of addiction.
And until Paul really wants to stop drinking, and accepts he has to change his thinking, he will struggle.
And while the apparent generosity of his 'benefactors' - including Chris Evans and Gary Linkeker - is admirable at face value, it does leave me feeling slightly uneasy.
It would have been all the more admirable if they hadn't felt the need to go public with their generosity - and it might have made Paul's exodus easier. If he had left quietly and anonymously, he would not have had the added pressure of press intrusion when he arrived in Phoenix.
Good luck, Gazza. Get honest, get humble, go to AA again when you come back home - and listen and ask for help in the rooms.
Then you will have a proper chance of not becoming another George Best.
I can tell you because I was just like Gazza almost 20 years - I could not stop drinking and my life was a terrible mangle of a mess.
The thing is this: I didn't want to stop drinking - and you can only get well when you have a true desire to stop.
So all the flashy rehabs in America will not provide the answer if Gazza has gone there merely for another spa break.
He has been to AA and he has been to rehabs before - and look where he is now. He seems to be like George Best; another tragedy unravelling in front of our very eyes. He does not appear to want to stop drinking.
There is no miracle cure. Just a reprive contingent on him changing his thinking - and there you have it. There is all this talk about his problem drinking but it is actually his problem thinking that is his real curse.
Drinking, drugs, sex, spending sprees - they are all but the symptom of the illness of addiction.
And until Paul really wants to stop drinking, and accepts he has to change his thinking, he will struggle.
And while the apparent generosity of his 'benefactors' - including Chris Evans and Gary Linkeker - is admirable at face value, it does leave me feeling slightly uneasy.
It would have been all the more admirable if they hadn't felt the need to go public with their generosity - and it might have made Paul's exodus easier. If he had left quietly and anonymously, he would not have had the added pressure of press intrusion when he arrived in Phoenix.
Good luck, Gazza. Get honest, get humble, go to AA again when you come back home - and listen and ask for help in the rooms.
Then you will have a proper chance of not becoming another George Best.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Balotelli's farewell gift to England - his Bentley
I AM hearing that Mario has left his Bentley - you know the one, the big camouflaged thing that has been all over the papers of late - to help charities in England.
It goes to show that the guy is not all bad as some would have you think. In many ways, he is big hearted and a kind, generous guy away from the cameras - as Noel Gallagher will testify.
He decided it would be a nice gesture to leave it here and let it be auctioned off for charity.
It is apparently his parting gift to England and the City fans he loves.
It goes to show that the guy is not all bad as some would have you think. In many ways, he is big hearted and a kind, generous guy away from the cameras - as Noel Gallagher will testify.
He decided it would be a nice gesture to leave it here and let it be auctioned off for charity.
It is apparently his parting gift to England and the City fans he loves.
City wanted rid of Dzeko rather than Balotelli
I HEAR that Man City really wanted to unload the big lumbering Edin Dzeko rather than Mario - but that Mario's wish to join Milan scuppered those plans.
Dzeko had been lined up for a move to Arsenal or Juventus for the same sort of fee that Milan bought Mario.
But Mario's insistence that he wanted to move back to Milan ended those hopes.
I believe that Mario is a much better player than Dzeko - but whether Mario ever reaches his potential is very much up in the air.
He is a troubled man-child, a much more likeable guy than you would imagine from the rather lurid headlines that follow him around.
As a child, he was insecure and unsure of his identity.
He is still insecure and immature. But if he does concentrate on his football he has the potential to be the best No 9 in the world - and that is why City would rather have kept him than Dzeko.
Dzeko had been lined up for a move to Arsenal or Juventus for the same sort of fee that Milan bought Mario.
But Mario's insistence that he wanted to move back to Milan ended those hopes.
I believe that Mario is a much better player than Dzeko - but whether Mario ever reaches his potential is very much up in the air.
He is a troubled man-child, a much more likeable guy than you would imagine from the rather lurid headlines that follow him around.
As a child, he was insecure and unsure of his identity.
He is still insecure and immature. But if he does concentrate on his football he has the potential to be the best No 9 in the world - and that is why City would rather have kept him than Dzeko.
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